


By Ear

by Tallulah_Rasa



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Post Episode: s03e18 Shades of Grey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-02-15 14:31:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2232489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallulah_Rasa/pseuds/Tallulah_Rasa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post "Shades of Grey," Jack wonders if he's still in tune with SG-1.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By Ear

**Author's Note:**

> The was written for Fig Newton for the 2007 SG-1 Team Ficathon. Fig wanted early SG-1 off-world, a little plot, and a little humor, and didn't want the NID, Jaffa backstory, or language. I think "little" certainly applies to the plot and humor of the following story.
> 
> This takes places directly after the episode, "Shades of Grey." (A few notes on the what and why of that appear at the end of the story.) I tried not to depart from established canon, but I suspect I broke from reality in my depiction of military radios. Standard issue SGC radios work differently than normal ones, okay?
> 
> Many thanks to Beta Extraordinaire Roslyn, who can ferret out plot inconsistencies, flabby characterizations, and inexact phrases faster than a speeding bullet. She voted for "Playing by Ear" as the title, by the way, but I couldn't get past the mental image of Jack picking out "Chopsticks" on the piano.

"Jack," Daniel said as soon as they were through the Gate to what was supposed to be a sunny, safe, naquadah-rich planet, but which instead was chilly and damp, as gloomily overcast as the opening scene of a horror movie, and shot through with a pervasive smell of unwashed socks, "I think you should--"

And then, before Jack could even get out a "Not now, Daniel!" there was a glow around the DHD, and then -- _nothing_. Daniel just ...wasn't there. Jack turned in the dank half-light, trying to get a fix, opening his mouth to yell out, and in the space of that instant Sam suddenly wasn't there, and then  Teal'c, too, vanished.

Jack was still turning, a shout caught in his throat, when he himself was no longer standing between the Gate and the DHD, but abruptly, inexplicably, somewhere else. Suddenly surrounded by a thick mist that clung to him like a living thing, Jack tried to do a standard recon. No gun, no pack, no supplies. No prickling at the back of his neck or in his gut, so no unfriendlies, either, lying in wait for his team. But, also...no team.

_Peachy._

He was getting a little sick of being separated from his team. More than a little, actually, what with first being stranded on another world, and then having to play traitor to his own. Those last two missions had taken something out of him, taken something _away_ from him. He couldn't just relegate  Tollana and its aftermath to the dung heap of _damned distasteful things he'd done for his country_. It had been too hard to play traitor.  Too hard to see his team buying the act. Too hard to push his team away, when he'd still been so damned happy -- so _relieved --_ to be back with them. And what that meant...well, he was getting a little sick of thinking about that, too.

He'd had too much time to think, lately. Too much time alone. He wanted to get back to briefings and missions, to yard work on his days off, to smoke curling off the barbecue while his team lounged on his deck. He wanted _normal_. He wanted _okay_.

He couldn't say any of that to Hammond, of course, but the General had seemed to understand. After the whole mess with Maybourne and Makepeace was finally settled, General Hammond had taken Jack aside. He'd said something about team dynamics and MacKenzie, and when Jack had said, so calmly, so _reasonably_ , that they just needed a nice, easy mission and they'd be _fine_ , Hammond had hardly hesitated before he'd said okay. He'd let Jack vent a little about allies and trust and teamwork, and then sent him off to finish his standard back-to-the-SGC-after-disappearing/quitting/being-declared-dead paperwork. Jack had still been signing forms when Hammond had gotten a line on Planet Paradise from the Tollan, so Hammond had already briefed Carter, Teal'c and Daniel when Jack finally got the mission run-down. "It should be just the kind of mission your team needs," Hammond had told Jack, who'd managed not to ask if the planet had an O'Malley's.

The General had sounded slightly apologetic when he'd given them the go-ahead. Jack had figured the mission was going to be a run-of-the-mill bust -- no naquadah, no ruins, no nifty weapons -- and that he was in for some whining from the Wonder Twins. _I could do without **that**_ , he'd thought as he'd stepped through the Gate

Now, with Earth somewhere on the other side of the galaxy, and his team once again somewhere Jack wasn't, a little stereo whining didn't seem like such a bad thing. Jack turned again, trying to get a fix on his location, and wondered when _okay_ had come to mean _pretty much anything, so long as I'm with my team_.

The fog was disorienting, and when he heard a few clicks they almost didn't register, until his radio came alive -- he still had his radio! -- and a familiar voice rumbled, "O'Neill! Major Carter! Daniel Jackson! Are you there?"

"I'm here, Teal'c," Jack responded automatically, relief momentarily turning his legs as rubbery as the calamari Daniel had conned him into trying, all those months ago, on their last team night. "Wherever 'here' is. I'm pretty much socked in by fog. What's your status?"

"I am unharmed," Teal'c said. "I appear to be alone. I see no evidence of the Goa'uld, or of anyone or anything else. I no longer have my pack or staff weapon. And I am on a mountain."

"A mountain. Well, that's...good.Can you get a visual on me, Carter, or Daniel?"

"I am unable to see you, Daniel Jackson, or Major Carter. In one direction I see an area of dense fog. This may indicate your location, as I see no fog elsewhere," Teal'c said. "In another direction I see a river, and beyond that a small forest. I do not see the Stargate. "

The sound of squelching carried over Jack's radio, and then the rasp of someone trying to catch a breath. "I'm by the river," Sam's voice croaked over the airwaves.

"Glad you could check in, Major," Jack said.

"Sorry for the delay, Sir, but before this I was _in_ the river," Sam said. "My pack and weapon are gone, too, but I see a mountain,  Teal'c, and I see the forest you mentioned."

"Can anyone see Daniel?" Jack asked, tamping down the uneasiness that always went with those words. If there was danger out there, Daniel would find it. Hell, he'd probably introduce himself to it. "Daniel? Are you there?"

"Mfxxthwjklighh," the radio replied.

"Do you require assistance, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c immediately asked, and Jack thought a mere mountain wouldn't stand in Teal'c's way if Daniel said _yes_.

"Uh...no," Daniel said, his voice nearly drowned out by the sharp crackling of what sounded like a giant bowl of Rice Krispies. "I...uh...just..."

The crackling stopped, and Jack heard the unmistakable WHUMP! of a heavy object falling some distance onto a solid surface.

"Daniel?" Sam called out anxiously, her voice tinny and tense over Jack's radio.

"It's okay," Daniel answered breathlessly. "I was...uh... in a tree."

"You climbed a tree?" Sam asked.

"Noo, no climbing was involved," Daniel said. "I just -- found myself in a tree."

"Were you able to ascertain our positions from your location, Daniel Jackson?"

"I was upside down," Daniel said apologetically, "and it was kind of leafy up there, so no."

"And now?" Jack cut in quickly. _He_ should be the one asking the questions, damn it.

"Now," Daniel said tightly, "I'm no longer in a tree."

Jack clicked the radio off, counted to ten, and hit the 'send' button again. "Status, Daniel?"

"I'm alone," Daniel's voice came back. "There are no obvious signs of animals or people. My pack is gone, and so is my gun." Daniel sounded annoyingly unconcerned about his situation, Jack thought. Maybe he'd fallen onto some old books. "Jack, if you--"

Jack cut him off. "What exactly did you touch this time, Daniel?"

"What?"

"You were standing by the Gate, Daniel, and then -- poof! -- you were imitating a leaf," Jack said, not bothering to hide his irritation. "I'm asking, what did you do to get from point A to point B? And can you un-do it?"

"Um, Sir -- I didn't touch anything, and I ended up in a river," he heard Carter say.

"I touched nothing as well, and I am on a mountain," Teal'c added. "And where, exactly, are _you_ , O'Neill?"

Jack looked around. The mist parted to reveal a glimpse of golden grassland before swirling back into an all-encompassing pearl-grey blanket. "I have no idea," he said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Kansas." He sighed. "Okay, point taken. Sorry, Daniel."

But Daniel was, as always, off in another direction. "You know...there's moss growing on one side of the trees here, and even though it's overcast, I can make out the sun through the canopy. If I use the moss side as my reference point, then the sun's at eleven. If you can--"

"Right," Sam broke in. "If we can see the sun, we can align with you. Teal'c?"

"Done," Teal'c said.

When, Jack wondered, had they become a three-person team? When had they begun relying on each other so seamlessly? "I hate to rain on your mossy, nicely-aligned parade," he found himself saying into the radio, "but I'm in a fog here; I can't see my feet, much less the sun. And all of us facing in the same direction is nice, but--"

"We're in radio range, so we must be fairly close to each other, Sir," Sam said, her voice carrying the careful neutrality of a career soldier. "And if we know where we are in relation to each other..."

Of course; he should have thought of that. He _knew_ that. Whatever had happened at the Gate had obviously messed with his mind. He was a  soldier, after all, he was used to tension, used to making rapid-fire decisions even through the roar of an adrenaline rush. It made no difference that the rush had been a flood during their little trip to Netu, or had careened into a white-water torrent as Teal'c's staff weapon blasted a hole through Sha're. He was used to stress. He'd watched ten days turn into thirty and then fifty and then a hundred on Edora. He'd cozied up to that slime-ball Maybourne. This, now, was no big deal. No one was dying, no one was going insane, no one was getting snaked. Piece of cake, and not the drugged, turn-you-into-a-ninety-year-old kind.

Oh, yeah. Something had definitely happened to him at the Gate.

Jack straightened his back and took a breath. "Of course, Carter," he said. "Good work. See if you can locate me, too, will you?"

"I've got forest at three o'clock," Sam reported back, sounding more relaxed, if just as efficient. "That's probably your location, Daniel. The mountain's at seven. I can see a foggy area at about ten. I assume that's you, Sir. I see storm clouds moving in on you, Daniel. Big ones. You're probably going to want to find some cover. Teal'c, what do you see?"

"I see forest and storm clouds," Teal'c said, "at roughly two o'clock from my position. I also see a river, and I believe I see you, Major Carter. I do not, however, see anything resembling Kansas, O'Neill."

"How do you know what Kansas looks like, Teal'c?" Daniel asked, and Jack could just picture him, fingers flexing, itching for a pen and notebook.

Teal'c's solemn tone was somehow amplified by the radio. "I have seen it on television. It is a place of farms, strong winds, and flying houses."

"You forgot little girls with pigtails," Jack said. The mist swirling around his feet ebbed for a moment, revealing a few sticks among the grass. Jack grabbed the longest one and began doodling a map on the ground.No matter that he could barely _see_ the ground; the map was perfectly clear in his head. He was at Carter's ten o'clock, and Daniel was at her three, with a river between them...

"Look for grassland, Teal'c," Sam said. "A flat expanse of grassland."

"I see the edge of a grassy area at approximately eleven o'clock," Teal'c said. "Mist shrouds the area, but it appears to be receding. If I am not mistaken, I see the Gate some distance beyond the grassland."

"Yes!" Jack exulted."Good, Teal'c."

"Daniel?" Sam asked. "What do you see?"

"I...uh...can't see the forest for the trees. I can't see much of anything, actually. Sorry," Daniel said, but Jack heard something more. There was something Daniel wasn't saying.

He'd only gotten through _Damsel in distress, honkin' big library, zat blast_ on his standard list of _Things to watch out for with Daniel_ when  Teal'c's voice came through the radio. "If you walk toward your nine o'clock, Daniel Jackson, you should reach the river by which Major Carter is positioned. You would have to cross the river to unite with Major Carter, O'Neill and myself, but I see--"

"Uh, slight problem," Daniel said. "Did I mention I fell out of a tree?"

And...there it was. "What did you break?" Jack demanded.

"Just my glasses, Jack."

"And...?

"And...?" Daniel repeated.

"I know there's an _and_ , Daniel. What is it? Did you make a new friend? Get shot? Find the meaning of life?"

"I...might have sprained my ankle," Daniel answered, his annoyance clear through the static. "No big deal."

"I think I can cross the river," Sam said. "I'll come and get you. I just need to find a place where the current's calm enough to--"

"If I descend from my position and join you, Major Carter," Teal'c interrupted, "I believe we can--"

"Look, you don't need to do that," Daniel said. "I'm fine; I can wait here. You should get to the Gate and--"

"Hey!" Jack said sharply. "Who's in charge here?"

"Uh, sorry, Sir," Sam said. "We're...that is, I guess we're not used to..."

"Yeah, I get that, Carter," Jack said, fighting down the urge to yell, or to fling the radio into the mist. "From here on in, get used to it again. And get _this_ \-- we don't know what's out there: unfriendly natives, a stray  Goa'uld, or...hell, lions, tigers and bears. We don't have supplies. We don't have weapons. None of us can go haring off, no matter how good the reason seems to be. Got that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Understood, O'Neill."

Jack waited, though now he wanted to throttle the damned radio, and then asked with exaggerated politeness, "Daniel...? Are we clear?"

He could hear the clap of thunder even without the radio, and then Daniel's "Sam? I think that storm you saw is just about here."

"Can you get to shelter?" Sam's voice radiated concern, and the need to squash the radio morphed into the peculiar pride Jack always took in SG-1 -- the least military team of his career, but somehow the strongest.

"I can't see anything that would be a good shelter. Of course, I can't actually see much of anything, so..."

"Could you not use materials from the forest floor to fashion a shelter?" Teal'c asked.

The only answer was the sound of scraping.

"Daniel...?" Jack called into the radio, searching through the curtain of fog for something, anything, that might help Daniel. Ridiculous, he knew, but he also knew that Carter and Teal'c were probably doing the same thing.

"That's what I'm trying to..." More scraping, an "Oof!" some fumbling, some muttering in Abydonian, and what sounded like a curse in Russian. "It's mostly brush," Daniel finally said, "and I...oh!"

And then silence grated against Jack's ear.

"Daniel! What's your situation? For crying out loud, talk to me!"

"I can't talk and..." Daniel finally said, in the same tone he used when Jack barged into his office once too often while he was working on a translation. "And since this isn't much of a foundation, I--"

_That_ had Jack ready to barrel his way to Daniel, fog or no fog. " _Now_ you're going to bring that up?" he demanded. "Daniel, of all the--"

"Sir?" Sam interrupted. "I don't think he--"

"O'Neill," Teal'c began at almost the same time, "I believe Daniel Jackson is referring to--"

Daniel answered over all of them. "I uh, meant the brush," he said mildly. "I've been trying to build a lean-to, but it won't stay up. But it's okay, I..." His voice was drowned out by an explosive crack of thunder.

" _Daniel?_ "

"I'm here, Jack," Daniel answered immediately. "It's not like I've never been caught in a storm before. We didn't bring umbrellas on digs. I'm fine. And anyway, I--"

"Good," Jack said, breathing out heavily. He needed to _do_ something, damn it, but he couldn't build a shelter for Daniel, or get  Teal'c down from his mountain, or offer Carter so much as a fishing pole. There was nothing he could do, off alone in a fog. Nothing except give orders through a radio, and they were all doing fine without his orders. _Had_ been doing fine without his orders, for all these months. They didn't need to hear a thing from him.

Except...maybe...

"Daniel. Look, about..." He thought then about dropping the whole thing, but too much time had already gone by, and maybe Sam and Teal'c needed to hear this, too. It wasn't just about him and Daniel, after all, it was about the team, and he sure as hell wasn't going to be separated from them again. "About that whole foundation thing -- maybe you didn't get what I was trying to tell you. At the SGC. What I--"

" _Jack_ ," Daniel interrupted, and Jack couldn't tell if that was Daniel's exasperated voice, or just Daniel trying to talk over the rain. "Before I came to the SGC, my life was focused, not sheltered."

Jack stared at the radio. "Am I...am I supposed to understand that?"

He heard the low rumbling of thunder over the radio, and then Daniel's voice again. "...but I wasn't hidden away from the world. Yes, I studied artifacts and myths and mummies, but I worked with people. I _lived_ with people. I understand more than dead languages, Jack, more than...than fairy tales. I understand how real life works."

Jack could almost see Daniel's hands moving, could practically see the look in Daniel's eyes. A radio could convey a lot, sometimes. "Daniel, I don't think you--what I'm trying to say is--"

"I've saved your life." Over the roar of the rain, Daniel's voice crackled through the line, strong and sure. "You've saved mine. We're bound up in each other's lives, whether we want to be or not. All of us. We may get on each other's nerves, shock each other, even...even leave each other for a while. Still..."

"Still," Teal'c spoke up, "We are a team. Those bonds hold strong."

"And we understand each other," Sam added. "Not right away, maybe, and not always, and okay, not the science. Or the math. Or... Okay, what I'm trying to say is, we understand the important things, even if we don't say them. And even if...even if we say one thing, but we mean something else.

Jack felt his stomach clench. "Daniel -- you _told_ them?" No wonder they'd all been so pissed at him, Jack thought. As protective as Sam and  Teal'c were of Daniel, he was lucky they hadn't thrown him in front of a wormhole.

"Of _course_ I told them," Daniel said, and despite the pounding rain he sounded almost amused. "I knew you were trying to tell me something, Jack. I had to be sure I understood it -- that we all understood it, so we could back you up."

"But -- wait. Then all that stuff about the short straw...?"

"Well, we _were_ a little ticked when you went off on your own like that," Daniel said. "I mean, we'd just gotten you back."

"Yeah," Jack said. He closed his eyes, just for a minute, and let himself relax. Things were looking a little better. Sure, they were stranded on another planet, but no one was shooting at them, yet. And this time, at least, they were stranded together. "Well, now I'm back for good. I can't trust you people to stay out of trouble on your own -- you _need_ me."

"Absolutely. We were lost without you," Sam said absently. Jack could barely hear her; it sounded like she was trying to knock down a tree. Probably trying to build a bridge single-handedly, he thought. Well, if anyone could, it was Carter.

"Over the past months, I heard several people speak of how the SGC was changed by your absence, O'Neill," Teal'c said. Jack listened to the rhythm of Teal'c's words, to the thump of his boots over the radio link, and knew Teal'c was moving fast. He didn't ask what Teal'c was doing. Teal'c was a soldier, he knew what to do. "According to Sgt. Harriman, this was the first quarter in the history of Stargate Command in which all paperwork was filed on time."

"Ah, but were those reports a quick and easy read, or filled with incomprehensible details, facts and figures?" Jack asked.

"We missed you, too, Jack," Daniel said. He didn't sound pained or breathless, so probably he really _did_ have just a sprained ankle and another pair of broken glasses. And the rain sounded less insistent, now.

"That's not what I said," Jack protested. 

"If you'd _listen_ , you'd know I\--" Daniel began, and then he broke off. "Hey! It stopped raining!"

"That's great, Daniel," Sam grunted, and then Jack heard her drop something. "Drat! I've been trying to figure a way to bridge the river, but I need some equipment, or another pair of hands. Are you okay for a while longer, Daniel?"

"I'm fine," Daniel answered. "Just a little wet."

Jack rolled his head back, working a kink out of his neck, and grinned. "So, the foundation held after all."

"Uh, no, it didn't," Daniel said. "But it's okay; I found a rain poncho in my pocket."

The kink tightened. Jack rubbed his neck as his radio spurted a burst of static, and then Teal'c's voice came through.

"I have descended the mountain, O'Neill," Teal'c reported.

"You -- well, that was fast," Jack said.

"I was highly motivated," Teal'c said.

"Hot date tonight?"

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "It is team night. And I believe it is your turn to host."

Jack smiled. Teal'c, he understood. "Well then," Jack said. "I need to get home and clean up before company comes. It's a good thing the fog is lifting. For a while there, I thought it was going to last forever."

"It is the way of fog to dissipate," Teal'c said. "Do not your scientists say that things act as they must?"

"Let me guess," Jack said. "Now you're going to tell me you _must_ rendezvous with Carter to retrieve our somewhat-soggy archeologist. I'm assuming you've done a check, and you haven't seen anything that could be a threat to the team?"

"That is correct, O'Neill."

"Then go for it. The fog's lifted enough that I can see the Gate now. I'll head over and let the SGC know we could use a little help. Be careful, T."

"I shall, O'Neill."

"There may be some radio interference from whatever affected us at the Gate, Sir," Carter cautioned. "You may not be able to raise us."

"Understood, Carter. I won't worry if I can't reach you. But you kids keep in radio contact with each other, okay?"

He set off toward the Gate with Carter's crisp, "Yes, Sir," Teal'c's firm, "Indeed," and Daniel's abstracted, "What?" in his ear.

Jack passed through the grassland, automatically scanning and checking as he went. Nothing threatening, nothing odd. Except...the force that had whisked them from the Gate had left him not only with his radio, but also his IDC. It was almost as if...

He shook his head, surveyed the area around the Gate, and inspected the DHD and the Gate before he dialed in. Nothing out of place, nothing odd. Except...

"Colonel O'Neill. Is everything all right?" the General demanded as soon as the communication link was established. It sounded as if he'd been standing by in the control room, though SG-1 was the only team off-world, and they weren't due to check in for hours...

Well, things weren't back to normal, yet. Or maybe this was some new normal he didn't know about. It had been a few months, after all; things could change in a few months.

"Everything's fine, Sir," Jack said quickly. "Now. But this wasn't exactly my idea of a nice, easy mission."

"Sorry about that, Jack," Hammond said.

"Not your fault, Sir. You couldn't have known we were heading for...well, let's just say this place isn't exactly P3X-Sunny Paradise. Just the opposite, in fact. And some force hit us -- separated us -- pretty much as soon as we got through the Gate, so..."

"I'm afraid the...slight problems...with your mission are my fault, Colonel O'Neill," someone said through the link.

Jack swallowed hard. "Chancellor Travell?" Were those people _never_ satisfied? "Something you needed?"

"You might say I am here on a mission of great importance," the Chancellor said.

"I thought we were done," Jack said, balling his fist and aiming it for the DHD a few times before stopping himself. "We got the bad guys, you're still our allies -- did I miss something?"

"Chancellor Travell was concerned about the aftermath of your last mission," General Hammond broke in smoothly.

"And I appreciate that," Jack said, not so smoothly. "But I thought we agreed to let me get my team back to normal without any outside 'assistance', General. Chancellor, you offered to give us the coordinates for a supposedly sunny, deserted planet with a lode of naquadah in return for our nabbing your bad guys -- not to mention that we saved your--"

" _Colonel_ ," General Hammond warned.

"General, our 'allies' knowingly gave us false information about a Gate address, possibly screwed with the DHD, and put my team in danger," Jack spat out.

"I would not describe what we did in precisely those terms, Colonel," the Chancellor said.

"No kidding," Jack said. "Someone could have been killed."

"I acted as I did because I have faith in your team, Colonel O'Neill. Faith in your ability to protect them, and theirs to protect you, and each other. I would not have allowed any lasting misfortune to befall your people. I assure you, you and your team have been carefully monitored at all times." Chancellor Travell insisted.

"We've been -- General, this was _planned_?"

"I take full responsibility," Travell said haughtily.

"Given their role in some of the recent...stresses...affecting SG-1," Hammond said carefully, "the Tollan felt it was their duty to help restore the status quo. And -- well, Colonel, you and I did discuss the possible need for some...I think you termed it, 'team-building exercises' for SG-1."

" _Possible_ ," Jack said. " _Possible_ need. And I assumed I'd be involved in the...if we...you couldn't have _told_ me?"

"As we have discussed in the past, Colonel, for a plan of this type to work, the fewest number of people must know about it," Chancellor Travell said. "In this case, that included you."

"Me and _my team_ ," Jack stressed. "And let me tell you, I--"

The General cut in then. "The important thing is -- did it work, Jack?"

_Did it work?_ Jack swallowed his anger, and forced himself to shift his focus from Chancellor Travell to his team.

To Teal'c, who wouldn't let anything as small as a mountain get in his way.

To Daniel, who always tried to see the big picture, and who -- despite everything -- was still looking toward the light.

To Carter, who never stopped trying to solve a problem, never stopped trying to find a way.

They'd heard him when he thought no one could; they'd listened for him across a galaxy and struggled to hear him across a living room. His people, still. His team. If he'd had any doubts, or if they had, this mission had shown them all that they...

He looked at his radio, and then looked at his IDC, and shook his head. _Damn, they were good_. He smiled and tucked his IDC away before he finally answered. "Yeah," he said. "It worked. _We_ work. But Daniel's got a sprained ankle and he's busted his glasses again, and Carter thinks she needs to build a bridge."

"We can--" Chancellor Travell began.

"I think we can handle it," Jack said. "Though we could use a few more hands, General. And some gizmos to build a bridge. And probably a new pair of glasses for Daniel."

"Understood, Colonel," Hammond said, and Jack could hear his smile. "Assistance is on its way. For now, though, you can return to your team."

"With pleasure, Sir."

He stood by the Gate for a moment after the connection ended, thinking about the telescope his grandfather had given him when he was a kid. _You should learn all the parts, and how they work,_ his grandfather had told him, _but remember -- none of that matters if you look through the wrong end._

His team had set him up; that was as clear as Polaris on a dark night. It wasn't a bad plan, really -- he'd almost fallen for Travell's line. Not that he blamed them for _that_.  Turnabout, fair play. They were due. Well, all except for Daniel. _Short straw, my_...

He headed back, keeping his radio off. _Interference, huh, Carter?_ Well, whatever they were doing right now, he wouldn't interrupt. And he wouldn't let on yet that he knew. Better to wait till tonight.  Team night.

He passed into the golden grassland again, through lazily floating remnants of fog, and took a deep breath of the sock-smelling air. Sometimes being on another planet reminded a man of all the things that were so great about home. The smell of grass after you'd mowed the lawn, for instance. Or the smell of steaks on the grill...

Maybe he wouldn't say anything. Maybe they'd just have their regular old team night: a few beers, a few steaks, a lousy movie.

Routine.

Normal.

_Okay._

* * *

_Meanwhile, on an Asgard ship_...

"This," Thor said as three people materialized on his ship, "is not going well."

"I wouldn't say that," Sam said.

Thor looked pointedly at the puddles forming under Daniel and Sam, and handed each of them a shiny mesh towel. "O'Neill will be returning from the Gate shortly," Thor said. "I will have to beam you back to the planet in a moment. Are you certain you require no assistance?"

"We're fine, Thor," Sam said. She briefly toweled her damp hair before taking a swipe at Daniel's, smiling at both Daniel and Teal'c before turning back to their Asgard host. "But thanks."

"I regret that Dr. Jackson was injured," Thor said. "And that your plan did not go as anticipated."

"I'm fine, Thor," Daniel said. "And we appreciate your help. Yours _and_ Chancellor  Travell's. Everything worked out, even if things didn't go exactly as we thought they would."

"That is the way with Tau'ri plans, in my experience," Teal'c offered.

"I do not understand," Thor said.

"We got the team working together again," Sam told him. "That's the important thing."

"O'Neill was able to...I believe the Tau'ri word is, 'vent,' " Teal'c added. "He should now be able to fully resume his role on SG-1."

"He's probably planning our team night dinner already," Daniel said. "Ooh, I wonder if he'd go for takeout from that new Thai place?" He made a half-hearted attempt to wring out his jacket.

"I could go for ribs," Sam said. "From that place on Fifth."

"I believe O'Neill will wish to grill steaks," Teal'c said with some finality.

"But...Dr. Jackson was injured," Thor repeated.

"Broken glasses and a sprained ankle are a small price to pay to hear Jack yelling again," Daniel said. "Things are practically back to normal."

"I do not understand humans," Thor said thoughtfully.

"I do not believe anyone does," Teal'c said. "However, understanding is not necessary, if you deal with those you can trust."

"That's true, Teal'c," Daniel said, nodding. "I think even Jack would agree."

"If you say so," Thor said. "I will return you to your positions now, before O'Neill returns. I would not like to jeopardize the...success...of your plan by allowing O'Neill to discover your deception."

"Speaking of that -- it's a good thing you were able to...do whatever you did so Jack didn't realize he was in an Asgard beam," Daniel said.

Thor nodded. "If necessary, we are able to modulate the beam's frequency so that it is virtually undetectable to the human central nervous system."

"I meant to ask you, do you transpose the hyperlink relay, or is there a--?" Sam began eagerly.

"You must return to the planet _now_ , Major Carter," Thor interrupted gently.

"You're probably right," Sam said with a sigh. "But General Hammond and Chancellor Travell will give the Colonel a plausible explanation for what happened. And we have a saying on Earth: What you don't know can't hurt you." She exchanged a look with her teammates, and then turned back to the Asgard High Commander. "Just in case, you'd better return us _exactly_ where we were before."

"I believe somewhere close to the same positions will be fine," Teal'c said.

"You think the Colonel won't notice, Teal'c?"

"I think he will expect us to have made some progress," Teal'c said. "As we have."

"Teal'c! That's very profound," Sam said as she got into position for the Asgard beam.

"You have much insight into humans," Thor said as Teal'c stepped into place.

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised," Daniel said. He took his place next to Teal'c and Sam as Thor activated the control for the first beam. "After all, you know _us_ pretty well."

"Indeed," Teal'c said, his voice lingering after his molecules had disappeared in the warm Asgard glow. "Indeed."

 

END

 

**Author's Note:**

> Story notes: "Shades of Grey" is an episode I always thought needed some follow-up. I mean, Jack had had quite a year before his enforced vacation on Edora, what with getting snaked by Hathor, watching Daniel's seeming descent into insanity, taking a trip to hell, running into the Destroyer of Worlds again, and facing some uncomfortable questions raised by Urgo. That he had to play traitor about five minutes after getting home from Edora must have taken a toll on the guy -- and caused some lasting repercussions for his team. I always wondered how SG-1 got from "Shades of Grey" to "New Ground," and from there to "The Other Side" and, say, "Divide and Conquer." This isn't exactly a bridge, but like Sam, I'm trying.


End file.
